Entangled Histories

Making New Connections in Early America, c. 1750-1850

April 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, PA

Over the last decade, Entangled History has emerged as a response to the global turn in American History. From recent work on the history of capitalism, slavery, and the slave trade, to studies of revolutions and pandemics, entangled approaches continue to push the boundaries of our historical understanding. In April 2018, a group of thirty scholars will gather in Philadelphia to discuss the influence, limits, and future direction of Entangled History. We invite you to join us.

Overview

We are delighted to announce the upcoming conference, “Entangled Histories: Making New Connections in Early America, c. 1750-1850,” which will be held in Philadelphia, April 5-7, 2018. Over the past ten years – beginning with 2007 forum on “Entangled Empires” in the American Historical Review – the concept of “entangled history” has gained currency in studies of Early America. Scholars have found "entangled history" in the politics of the borderland, slavery and the slave trade, smuggling networks, inter-imperial conflict, and many other subjects. This two-day conference brings together an international group of scholars to share new work and invites participants to reflect on the limits and potential of entangled history.

The program will include a series of six panels with pre-circulated papers that will be available to registered attendees. To obtain the papers, you must be registered for the conference. Papers will be available by March 1st.

On Thursday, April 5th, we will welcome two distinguished scholars – Alison Games of Georgetown University and Pekka Hämäläinen of the University of Oxford – as plenary speakers. They will open our proceedings with a dialogue about the assumptions and methodological habits that continue to carve up early American history and new opportunities for synthesis or comparison on hemispheric and global scales.

The next day, Friday, April 6th, our program will feature a special roundtable on digital history and mapping that will highlight the ways in which scholars are fusing print and digital publication, incorporating digital research into teaching, and partnering with research libraries to advance digital humanities. We expect this session to spark new partnerships and creative approaches to the study of early America that show the richness of entangled histories.

We look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia in April 2018.

Julia Mansfield & Eliga Gould
Co-chairs of the program committee

If you have questions about this event please contact the McNeil Center.

Alexandra Montgomery (MCEAS/University of Pennsylvania)
“‘The Current of Germans will be the Making of the Province’: Foreign Protestants, the British Empire, and the Weaponization of Settlement in the Gulf of Maine World, 1740-1800”

Christopher Bilodeau (Dickinson College) & Benjamin Brower (University of Texas at Austin)
“‘The Indigenous Question’: Forced Migration of Indigenous Populations in the United States and French Algeria, 1820-1870”

Commentator: Jordana Dym (Skidmore College)

10:30 – 10:45 AM Break

10:45 – 12:15 PM Session 6: Entangled Lives and Deaths

Kristie Flannery (University of Texas at Austin)
“The Transimperial Biography of Don Cesar Falliet: A Life Between Global Cities, 1730-1762”

Katherine Grandjean (Wellesley College)
“The Two Faces of John Setton; Or, a Tale of Crime and Punishment in the Borderlands of the Early Republic”

Commentator: April Hatfield (Texas A&M University)

12:15 – 12:45 PM Concluding Remarks

Participant Guidelines

The program includes six sessions with pre-circulated papers that will be available to all registered participants. Each session includes three papers and one commentator who will respond to the papers and open discussion for attendees.

Panelists
Initially, the panelists will provide a short summary (8-10 minutes) of their papers. When speaking, the panelists should bear in mind that participants have already had time to read the papers and need only brief remarks to refresh their memories. Therefore, panelists should use their time principally to highlight connections that they see across papers and put their work in conversation with the work of other panelists. In addition, panelists should use their time to situate their papers within the context of a larger book project or ongoing research agenda and to raise historiographical, methodological, or interpretive questions with which they are grappling.

Commentators
The commentator will respond to the panelists as a group and offer a few questions to launch discussion.

Attendees
Every participant is expected to read the pre-circulated papers that panelists submit before the conference and to engage with their work rigorously. Each session will have a 30 to 45 minute period of time devoted to general discussion. We look forward to lively exchanges and debates between participants as we all delve into the rich materials presented.

Please contact the McNeil Center with any conference related questions.

Scott Ziegler
Head of Digital Projects and Services, Louisiana State University Libraries

Program Committee

Eliga Gould, University of New Hampshire, Co-Chair

Julia Mansfield, Yale University, Co-Chair

Jordana Dym, Skidmore College

April Hatfield, Texas A&M University

Jessica Lepler, University of New Hampshire

Travel Information

Philadelphia is easily accessible by plane, train, or automobile. Amtrak service is frequent on the Northeast Corridor line between Washington and Boston. Most major airlines serve Philadelphia International Airport. SEPTA commuter trains, various limousine services, and taxis provide quick transportation from the airport to Center City or University City.

Contact Information

Please contact the McNeil Center with any conference related questions.

Images (in order of appearance):

Isaac Mendes Belisario (1795-1849), “Jaw-Bone, or House John-Canoe,” from Sketches of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupation, and Costume of the Negro Population in the Island of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, 1837, lithograph with watercolor, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Courtesy of Yale Center for British Art.

Isaac Mendes Belisario (1795-1849), “Koo-Koo, or Actor-Boy,” from Sketches of Character, In Illustration of the Habits, Occupation, and Costume of the Negro Population in the Island of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica, 1837, lithograph with watercolor, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection. Courtesy of Yale Center for British Art.